County All-Stars win Babe Ruth opener

The Onondaga County All-Stars felt right at home at the Senior Babe Ruth 16-18 Mid-Atlantic Regional on Thursday night.

As the host of the eight-team tournament, Onondaga enjoyed a comforts of playing at Van Duyn Field in Syracuse as it defeated Eastern New York champion Sorensco, 12-1, in six innings.

Turner Parry of West Genesee got the start and pitched six strong innings against the Sorensco Falcons. Parry, who is headed to the University of Buffalo, struck out five and limited the Falcons of East Greenbush to five hits.

But it was Onondaga's power at the plate that led to the lopsided win. Despite not playing a game together prior to the tournament, Onondaga cranked out 14 hits including home runs by Nathan Nigolian and Dan Karleski, both from state Class B champion Westhill.

"They hit the ball great today," Onondaga coach John Dalpan said. "That's what is going to make or break us here is our hitting. We know we have pitchers that are decent. But we have to score runs."

The Mid-Atlantic Regional features host Onondaga and teams from Eastern, Western and Metro New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Southern New Jersey.

All are looking to earn a berth in the Senior Babe Ruth World Series on Aug. 4-12 in Newark, Ohio. The tournament runs through Monday (weather permitting) at Marcellus High School and Van Duyn.

Onondaga blasted Sorensco starter Cooper McGowan for five runs on six consecutive hits in the third inning and never looked back. First baseman Steve Komanecky of Auburn had a RBI single, but the big blow was Nigolian's three-run homer over the right field fence.

Ethan Braddock, from Fayetteville-Manlius, who now attends St. Lawrence University, added an RBI single to center to give Onondaga a 5-1 lead.

Onondaga broke loose for seven more runs in the sixth inning. Because of a 10-run rule, the game was halted in the bottom of the sixth. Karleski ended the game by driving in three runs on an inside-the-park home run to center.